iPhone users can now make internet-based calls

By staff and wire services reports

January 29th, 2010

Users of Apple Inc.’s popular iPhone now might be able to save money by making internet-based phone calls over AT&T Inc.’s cellular network, reports the Los Angeles Times. Apple this week allowed new versions of several voice-over-IP services to begin working on the iPhone. Previously, iPhone users needed a wireless internet connection to make such calls, but the change will allow calls from anywhere that receives a strong enough 3G cellular signal. By using VoIP applications to sidestep the phone’s normal calling software, iPhone owners could avoid using up their monthly allocation of minutes from AT&T, potentially allowing them to choose cheaper plans. AT&T said in October that it had taken steps to allow iPhone users to make VoIP calls over the network, but Apple did not appear to approve those apps until this week. Riding the popularity of services such as Skype, internet telephony has become a fast-growing way for users to make low-cost domestic and international calls. Skype, which says it often has as many as 20 million users online at once, recently signaled its intention to submit its own 3G VoIP application to the iPhone…